Clutch mechanism



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. K. WHITE.

. CLUTCH MBGHANISM.

IVe-447,019.' Patented Feb. 24,1891.

@ @en mf@ INrrn STATES sAMUELII. wIIITn, OII OIIIOAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLUTCH M/cI-IANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,019, dated February 24, 1891. Appiicaion ned M828, 1590. stanno. 357,138. (remodel.)

To au whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL K. VHITE, ofv

Chicago, in the county of Cook Yand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutch Mechanism; and

I do hereby declare that the following is afnll, clear, and exact description thereof, reference' being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference Inarked thereon,

vwhich form a part of this specification.

`appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation of an apparatus embodying apreferred form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view of the device taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isa view in eross-section taken on the line 44: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the device with the driving-pulleys shown in section. Fig. 6 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of construction embodying Iny invention, taken on the line 6 G of Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a View of the same in cross-section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig. S is a central vertical longitudinal sectional View of another modied form of construction embodying my invention.V

Fig. 9 is `a view of the same in cross-section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

In said drawings, Figs. 1 to 5, both inclusive, A represents as a whole the support or frame of the apparatus, which comprises a bed-plate a and an overhanging arm A,-

whichV is provided with a cylindric aperture a', extending longitudinally through the same and forming a journalbearing The outer part of said over-hanging arm A is cylindric` and forms a bearing A2 for the driving-pnlleys B B B2, which are arranged in similar ward end of the arm A conveniently by means of screws a2 c2. The i said annular plate A3 has a diameter somewhat'A greater than that of the overhanging arm A', so that it extends outside of the same and overlaps, Figs. 3 and 5, the front face of the hub B3. The mainportion of the hnb preferably eX- tends outward past the end'of thesupportingarm a distance equal to the thickness of the annular plate A3, and the outer marginal edge of said plate A3 rests in an annular groove b, formed in the hub at the inner marginal edge, so that the outer faces of the hub and plate are flush with each other.

C indicates the driven shaft of the apparatus, which is supported in the journal-bearing a', formed in the frame. The said shaft C Inay be connected in any suitable way with y the parts to be driven, but is herein shown as provided with a wheel or disk C', which may be a crank-disk. The said shaft C is held from endwise movement within the journalbearing by means of a transverse pin c, 1ocated in the frame and engaging a groove e in the shaft C. The forward end of the said shaft O is preferably made flush with the front face of the pulley-B and the plate Thedevices for connecting the hub B3 with the shaft C to be driven are constructed as follows:

D indicates a spring-actuated detent pivoted upon the front face of the hub B3 by means of a pivot d, with which one end of the f detent is engaged. A spring d is secured to the said detent D, andis arranged. to bear against the inner face of the pulley B2 and adapted to throw the detent D inwardly. A stop-pin d2 is located'l in the hub in position to engage thesaid detent D and limi-t the inward movement thereof. The said detent D is provided with a notch or recess d3, formed in the inner face thereof.

The shaft C is provided with a lslot C2, eX- tending a considerable distance inwardly from one side thereof andl opening through the end of the shaft nearest theonter face of the pulley-hub. a swinging dog E, which is mounted on a pivot e, extending transversely through the IOO Within said slot is located slot C? near the inner or rear end of the latter. The dog E projects from the s'lot'at the lnally in position free from the detent by means of a spring c', suitably applied for this purpose, the said spring beingv herein shown as made of leaf form and as interposed between the edge of the dog and the said inner wall of the slot and as attached to the dog, so as to bear at its free end against the said wall of the slot. The said spring may, however, be arranged otherwise in practice, as found convenient or desirable.

A slot or recess a3 is formed in the arm A in a plane at right angles to the pivot-pin c of the dog E, and in position to receive the outer part or end of the said dog when the free end of the latter is thrown by the spring e' away from the detent D. The plate A3, which holds the pulley-h ub in place,is notched or cut away opposite the recess as, as indicated at c4, Fig. 2, to admit the end of the dog into the said recess.

The pin cl2, by which the detent D is held from inward movement, is located so far from the center of motion of the pulley-hub as to be free from contact with the arm E of the dogE when said dog is swung about its pivot out of the notch c3. The part of said detent containing the notch d3 is located in position for engagement with the said arm E of the dog when the dog is swung out of the notch a3 and the detent is in contact with the stoppin cl2, against which it is held by the spring d. The edges of the detent at either side of the notch cl3 therein are, however, beveled or inclined outwardly from the notch, so that the contact of the arm of the dog with the said detent, when said dog is thrown laterally out of the notch a3 and the pulleys are revolved, will operate to force the detent outwardly against the action of the spring d', and thus allow the arm E of the dog to enter the said notch d3 of the detent.

F, Figs. 3, 4, and 5, indicates a sliding rod or bar which is located and adapted to slide longitudinally within a groove a8, formed in the outer surface of the supporting-arm A and opening into the inner end of the recess a3. As shown by Figs. 3 and 5, the said groove as is of less width than the said recess a3. The said sliding rod F fits closely within the said groove and has its outer face flush with the outer cylindric surface of the arm A. An enlargement or head fis formed upon the forward end of the said rod F and tits within the recess a3- The said head f has its end surface beveled, as shown at f', and adapted to engage a correspondingly-beveled surface or shoulder e2 of the dog E. The parts are so arranged that when the said head fis at the inner end of the recess a3 the outer end of the dog, which is held in contact therewith by the spring e', will be disengaged from the detent D. The said head and the beveled surface ofthe dog are so arranged, furthermore, that when the head is thrust into the outer end of said recess the dog will be swung laterally against the action of the spring, and the end of its arm E thereby brought into position to engage the said detent. 'lhe longitudinal slot as and rod F therein extend to a point outside of the pulley-hub,and the rod is providedv at its inner or rear end with an outwardly-extending lug or. pin fi. The frame A is provided with a transverse guide-recess a, Figs. 1 and 3, having parallel walls a7 a7, between which is located a sliding cam-plate G, provided with an actuating-rod g. The pin f2 on the sliding bar projects into the said recess a6 and is engaged by an inclined or cam slot f3, formed in the said cam-plate G. Said cam-plate is held in place by means of a plate f4, which is secured to t-he frame A by screws in the manner shown, Figs. l, 3, and 5. The said cam-plate may be shifted by power applied to the rod g, so as to move endwise the rod F by the action of the pin f2 in the oblique slot of the said plate, in an obvious manner.

The parts being constructed and arranged as described, the operation is as follows: Assuming the parts to be iu the position shown in the drawings-that is to say, with the driv ing-pulleys and shaft disconnected and the said driving-pulleys running loose upon the supporting-arm of the device-the outer end of the dog E will at this time stand within the slot a3 in said supporting-arm. Then it is desired to cause theshaft and parts connected therewith to rotate, the cam-plate Gr is moved so as to thrust the sliding rod F forwardly, the inclined face f of the headfon the said rod bearing against the incline e2 of the dog E, thereby swinging the said dog upon its pivot against the action of the spring, so that the end of the dog is thrown out of the notch d3 and the end of the arm E of said dog is brought into the path of the detent D upon the front face of the pulley-hub. AS the free end of the detent approaches the arm of the dog 1n the turning of the hub, the inclined edge of the said detent at the side of the notch therein will engage the end of the arm, so that said detent will be depressed or thrown outwardly upon its pivot until the notch cl3 on the inner edge of said detent arrives opposite the end of the arm of the dog, whereupon the said detent will be thrown inwardly under the influence of the spring, and the said notch Z3 will engage the end of the arm, so that the driving pulley and shaft will be locked together. It will be noted that as soon as the shaft is turned a little distance the dog will be carried away from the slot ai* and the head f ol' the rod, by which it was thrown out of said slot, and bears against the inner edge of the circular plate A3 as the parts revolve, said plate serving to keep the said dog in engagement with the detent on the driving-pulley. After the parts are thus connected and the dog has been carried away from the slot as, as described, the cam-plate can be thrown to the opposite limit of its movement, and thus withdraw the headfof the rod F to the rearward limit of its movement. Then the parts are thrown in this ICO position, the shaft C will be prevented from making more than one revolution with the driving-pulleys, for the reason that at the completion of one revolution of the parts the dog willenter the slot a2 in the supportingarin under the iniiuence of the spring which actuates it and at the same time become disengaged from the detent upon the driving-pulley. The engagement of said dog with the slot a3 will positively hold the said shaft from turning until the rod F is again actuated to release the dog from the said slot a2.

It is obvious that the driving and driven parts can bemade to rotate together for any number of revolutions by keeping the head f upon the sliding rod at the forward limit of its movement, so that it will close or fill the forward or outer end of the slot a3, and thereby form with the periphery of the ring or securing-plate A3 a continuous annular bearing-surface to hold the dog engaged with the detent-D. It is manifest that when it is desired to disconnect the parts the head f may be retracted, and the dog will then enter the slot a2 when it next reaches the same in its revolution in an obvious manner. It will thus be seen that the shaft can be caused to make 011e or more revolutions at intervals, as desired, and, furthermore, that the said shaft will always be arrested at the same point in its revolution. It will of course be seen that the notch as ma-y be placed at any angular position desired upon the arm A', according to the particular point in its rotation that it is desired the shaft should be arrested and held-that is to say, the said notch is herein lshown as arranged at the top of the arm A of the supporting frame or casting; but the same result will be obtained when the said notch is placed at the lower part or at one side of said arm,or at any other intermediate angular position.

A clutch made as above described is of especial advantage for use upon all machines where it is desired that the machine should be stopped in every instance with its working parts in the same position-as, for instance, on a paging or numbering machine, where the machine should be stopped with the type-carrying head elevated or away from the work.

A clutch of the character herein shown obviously places a machine of this kind entirely under the control of the operator, while insuring the positive stoppage of the machine at a desired point automatically and without any attention on the part of the operator to secure this end-that is to say, the operator may, by holding the rod F at the outward limit of its movement, retain the dog E engaged with the detent D during any number of revolutions desired; but by the shifting of.

show a preferred embodiment of my invention; but vthe main features thereof may be carried out in practice by the use of devices differing in mechanical form andvarrangement from the particular ones illustratedas, for instance, some of the different forms of apparatus containing the same principles of construction `and operation are shown in Figs. G, 7, 8, and 9, which will now be described.

Referring to Figs. G and 7 of the drawings, H indicates the base or support for the driving-shaft of the appai'atiis,wvhich base is provided wit-h a cylindric aperture h, extending longitudinally through the same and forming a journal-bearing for the driving-shaft I. The said driving-shaft I may be connected in any suitable manner with the devices furf nishing the power. The said shaft I is held from endwise movement within the journaly bearing by means of a transverse pin z', lo,- cated in the frame and engaging a groove i in the shaft I. The said base or support H isvprovided at its end adjacent to that end of the. driving-shaft remote from the power devices, with a cylind'ric head or disk H', provided with a laterally-projecting annular iiange H2, concentric with the said journalbearing h. The said Harige H2 is provided with a recess or notch h', in which is located a sliding part or plunger h2. l The said plunger h2 fits nicely Within the notch or recess, and its face is made on the same curve as the inner wall of the ange H2, so that when the plunger stands in the inner end of said recess h it will form a continuous unbroken surface.

K indicates the base or support for the driven shaft of the apparatus, which is located end to end with the support H,'a`nd is provided with a cylind ric aperture 7e, extentiing longitudinally through the same, which is located concentrically with the aperture h in the support H. The said aperture la forms a journal-bearing for the driven shaft L. `The said driven shaft L may be connected in any suitable way with the parts to be driven. A disk L is secured t0 the said shaft L adjacent to the disk H. 'lhe said driven shaft is held from eudwise movement Within the journal-bearing k by means of the said disk bearing against one end ot` said support K and a collar Z, rigidly secured to said shaft adjacent to the other' end of said support. The inner ends of the driving and driven shafts I and L are preferably lnade Hush, respectively, with the front faces of the stationary head H and the disk L.

The devices for connecting-the driving and driven shafts together are constructed as follows: rlhe'said shaft I is provided in its end adjacent to thel driven shaftwith a slot I,. extending a considerable distance 'inwardly from one side thereof and opening through the end surface of the shaft.

slot is located a swinging dog I2, which is mountedon a pivot z2, extending transversely IOO IIO

Vithin said v through the slot I near the inner or rear end ofthe latter. The dog I2 projects from the slot at the end of the shaftand is provided with an arm I2, conveniently arranged at right angles thereto and located within the space inclosed by the flange H2. The said dog I2 is movably held against the rear wall of the slot I by means of a spring t2, suitably applied for this purpose, the said spring being herein shown as inade of leaf form and as secured at one end to the dog I27 near the outer end thereof, and bearing at its other end against a transverse pin i" in the rear portion of the slot I. The head II and the disk L are of about the same diameter, and the edge of the flange II2 on said head is located adjacent to the front face of the said disk L. t

L2 .indicates a spring-actuated detent. pivoted upon the front face of the disk L by .means of a pivot Z, with which one end of the detent is engaged. A spring Z2 is secured to the said detent L2, and is arranged to bear against a stop-pin Z3 upon the disk and serves to throw the said detent outwardly. The said detent L2, is provided on its outer side with a lug or projection l* and in its inner face with a notch or recess The said lug or projection l is adapted to enter the recess h of the stationary head when the plunger h2 isretracted, and when in this position it is obvious that the driven shaft will be held from rotation. lVhen the said deten'tis thus thrown outwardly by the spring and the lug l" stands in the slot, said detent will be out of the path of the arm I2 of the swingingdog i2, carried by the driving-shaft I. lVhen, however, the plungeris moved into the open end of the recess h', thereby throwing the detent inwardly and carrying the lug out of said recess, said detent and thenotch Z5 in the inner face thereof will be located in the path of the arin l3 of the swinging dog, which will engage the said notch in an obvious manner whenit arrives opposite the same. The driving and driven shafts then rotate together and the lug l1l on said detent L2 bears against the inner face of the flange H2. Itis obvious that when the plunger is retracted the lug l" on the detent will enter the recess 7L when it arrives opposite said recess,and thus disconnect the shafts.

In the construction shown in the foregoing figures it is obvious'that when the driving and driven members of the clutch are united and are'rotating togethereither the swinging dog E, of the form shown in Figs. l to 5, or the pivoted detent L2, of the form shown in Figs. (i and 7, will bear and rub against a stationary part of the clutch mechanism, and thereby create some, although not usually an objectionable, degree of friction. In Figs. S and 9 is shown a form of construction in which this frictional contact of the dog or detent is obviated. In this construction the parts entering into the clutch are in the main features similar to those shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the differences consisting, essentially, in the construction of the driven shaft and the parts for connecting the saine with the drivingshaft. The said driven shaft (indicated by M) is supported in the journal-bearing et in the frame. The said frame is not provided with any longitudinal slot CLS, in which the sliding rod to operate the swinging dog rests, nor is there any transverse guide-recess for the cam-plate. The said shaft may be connected in any suitable way with the parts to be driven, but is herein shown as provided with a gear-pinion M. The said shaft M is provided with a slot M2, extending a considerable distance inwardly from one side thereof and opening through the end of the shaft nearest the outer face of the pulley-hub, as in said Figs. l to 5. At the end of the shaft M the said slot M2 extends entirely through the same, as shown at m. lVithin said slot is located a swinging dog N, which is mounted on a pivot n, extending transversely through the slot M2 in the rear portion of the latter. The dog N projects from the slot at the end of the shaft, and is provided with an 'arm N', adapted for engagement with the notch cl3 of the detent D, as described. The said arm N', however, is located with relation to the slot M2 in a reverse position to that in which the arm E of the dog E is located-that is to say, said arm N is located at the open side of the slot. The dog N is held normallyin position free from the detent by means of a spring n', suitably applied for the purpose, said spring being herein shown as made of leaf form, connected at one end to said dog N and bearing near its other end against a transverse piu m', located in said slot M2. The said spring n acts upon the said dog to throw the latter away from the detent D when the latter stands near the arm of said dog. The frame A is provided, as before described, with the slot or recess a3, adapted to receive the outer part or end of the dogN when the latter is thrown by the spring n away from the detent. In entering said slot a2 it is obvious that the said dog passes through the slotted portion m of the said shaft M.

The devices for throwing the said dog toward the detent are constructed as follows: The said shaft M is provided with a central longitudinal aperture m2, extending from the end of the slot M2 through the end of said shaft, said shaft being extended a considerable distance beyond the end of the frame A. lVithin the said aperture m2 is located a sliding rod O, which extends into the slot M2, and is there provided with an offset portion O', which rests and slides against the rear wall of the slot M2 and extends forward to a point near the front end of the saine. The end of the said offset portion O bears against a beveled surface or shoulder n2 of the dog N. The parts are so arranged that when the sliding bar stands at the forward limit of its IOO TIO

movement the offset portion of the rod will act upon the beveled shoulder n2 of the dog and throw said dog against the action of the spring, so that the arm N will stand in the path of the revolving detent and engage the same in an obvious manner. Furthermore, when the sliding rod is retracted the spring will throw the end of the dog into the slot or recess as and disengage it from the detentD.

rlhe shaft lil is provided in the rear of the gear-pinion M with a transverse slot m3, passing through the aperture m2. A pin o, secured to the sliding rod, is located in said slot and extends beyond the sides of the shaft, and its ends are fastened to a sliding sleeve or collar O2 on said shaft, said collar being provided with an annular groove or channel o. O3 is an operating-lever pivoted to a support or bracket o3 and provided with a forked end, the arms o4 of which are engaged with the groove o of said collar. It is obvious that as the said lever is swung on its pivot the collar will be moved longitudinally on the shaft, which movement will move the sliding rod O and oifset O in an obvious manner. It will thus be seen that as the offset O', which bears against the dog, turns with the said dog and shaft any frictional contact of suoli revolving part with the stationary part is avoided.

I claim as my inventionl. A clutch comprising driving and driven members, movable parts upon said driving and driven members adapted to automatically interlock with each other, and means for moving one of said parts to disengage it from the other part, substantially as described.

2. Aclutch comprising driving and driven members, movable parts upon said driving and driven members adapted to automatically interlock with each other, a stationary annular bearing-surface located in position to hold one of said parts interlocked with the other part, said annular surface being provided with a notch allowing the movement of the part. which engages the same in a direction to disengage it from the other part, and a movable part acting on the said part which acts against said annular surface t0 hold it out of said notch, substantially as described.

3. A clutch comprising driving and driven members, springactuated parts upon said driving and driven members adapted to interlock with each other, a stationary annular surface against which one of said parts bears, said annular surface being providedwith a notch or recess adapted to allow the movement of said part which bears on said annular surface in a direction to disengage it from the other part, and a movable block constructed to fill said notch,substantially as described.

other spring-actuated part, substai'itially as described.

5. A clutch comprising driving and driven members, spring-actuated parts upon said driving and driven members, one of said parts being located in the path of the other and provided with a notch adapted to engage said otherpart and an inclined surface adjacent to the notch, and a movable part acting upon one of said spring-actuated `.parts for disengaging it from the other spring-actuated part, substantially as described.

(3. A clutch comprising a stationary part having a bearing-aperture `and a slot in one side of said bearingaperture, driving and driven members mounted upon said stationary part, one ofsaid members being slotted, a spring-actuated dog pivoted in the slot in said member and having a laterally-projecting arm outside ot' said slot, said dog being adapted to enter the slot in saidstationary part, a spring-actuated detent on the other clutch member, located in the path of the said arm, and a movable part acting upon said dog for moving it into the path of said detent, substantially as described.

7. A clutch comprising a stationary part having a bearing-aperture, a slot in one side of said bearing-aperture, driving and driven members upon said stationary part, a springactuated dog on one of said mem bers adapted to enter said slot and to engage the other member when disengaged therefrom', a groove in said stationary part communicating with said slot, and a sliding rod located in said groove and bearing at one end against said dog, substantially as described.

8. A clutch comprising a stationary part having a bearing-aperture, a slot in one side of said bearing-aperture, driving and driven members upon said stationary part, a springactuated dog on one of said members, said ,dog being provided with an inclined or cam surface adapted to enter said slot and to engage the other member when disengaged therefrom, a groove in said stationary part communicating with said slot, and a sliding rod located in said groove and bearing at one end against the inclined surface upon said dog, substantially as described.

9. A clutch comprising a stationary part, driving and driven members upon said stationary part, spring-actuated parts upon said driving and driven members adapted to interlock with each other, a sliding rod in engagement with one of said spring-actuated parts, a pin on said rod, and a cam-plate engaged with and actuating said pin, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as IOO IIO

my invention I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses. l SAMUEL K. WHITE.

lVitnesses:

U. CLARENCE POOLE, `GEORGE W. HIGGINS, J r. 

